Wanda Sherwood Kearns discusses her service in the U.S. Naval Reserves

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Description:

Wanda Sherwood Kearns discusses her service as an air traffic controller in the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) of the U.S. Naval Reserves during World War II. Kearns talks about her basic training in Atlanta, Georgia, learning Morse code and how to "fly blind" in a flight simulator and shares military aviation anecdotes. She says that control tower operators were considered elite and were allowed privileges such as time off between shifts, weekend passes, and free flights to any military base. She also recalls that a woman's voice was thought to be more clearly intelligible over the radio than a man's and that women controllers were allowed to wear slacks to ensure decorum when they climbed ladders. Kearns is interviewed by Kathryn Cavanaugh.

Date Issued:

2004-08-12T00:00:00Z

Data Provider:

Michigan State University. Libraries

Collection:

G. Robert Vincent Voice Library Collection

Place:

United States and United States

Subject Topic:

Women's reserves, Women air traffic controllers, Women veterans, World War, 1939-1945, World War, 1939-1945, and Participation, Female

Subject Name:

United States and Naval Reserve

Subject Genre:

Interviews and Interviews

Language:

English

Rights:

In Copyright

URL:

https://n2t.net/ark:/85335/m5n29qh29